Upamanyu Biswas
Death descends upon a shadowy Venetian palazzo in the 2023 film, ‘A Haunting in Venice,‘ where Hercule Poirot has his work cut out when real and supernatural elements collide during a murder mystery investigation. As the detective stumbles into the Palazzo Lacrime dei Giovani, he is acquainted with renowned opera singer Rowena Drake, whose daughter, Alicia, died after throwing herself from her room’s balcony. However, the young girl had a pet bird named Harry who kept her company during her bedridden days while she was suffering from a mysterious illness. He was her only company in the dark, shadowy bedroom of the palazzo while she waited for a recovery that never materialized!
Harry Lives to Find a New Home
When Hercule Poirot and the assembled group at the Halloween party get ready to attend the seance of Alicia upstairs in her room, they are shocked to find Harry flapping around in her room. The parrot had been a faithful companion to Rowena’s daughter while she was lying in her bed most days, fighting off her sickness. Despite losing its owner eventually and being trapped in her musty bedroom for days without any company, the bird manages to survive till the end of the film. It even escapes its weary life in the palazzo when it is taken in by new owners who relocate it to a more sun-laden house than it used to be.
Before his mistress passed away, Harry could speak, often keeping Alicia company with more than just its presence as any talkative parrot might. However, the bird loses its voice the moment its owner passes away, personifying the grief it felt after her death. Owing to its closeness with Alicia, Harry is also privy to her wants and desires. As parrots are sociable creatures capable of sensing distress in their environment, it is likely that Harry felt that something was off with Alicia’s illness. When Poirot returns to the room later in search of anything that might lead him to the truth, he discovers the bird once more flapping around the room.
Intriguingly, Harry shatters a teacup and flies over to the floor beside Alicia’s bed, almost drawing the detective’s attention to something it wants him to see. Poirot instantly finds a scrap of paper, which turns out to be the other half of the picture of Alicia and Maxime during their engagement, which the young girl kept close to her. After her death, Rowena orders Olga to keep her daughter’s room set the same way as it always had been. Consequently, the parrot was likely sequestered in the dark, dreary room for a long period without any access to open air. While it may not be fatal, it is still a gloomy and stressful environment for the bird.
Once Poirot solves Alicia’s murder, the detective talks to Olga and Leopold Ferrier, who tell him that the doctor’s son is going to live with the housemaid as his father is no longer alive. They plan to take in Harry, who they feel should live in a home where he is able to experience the sunlight more often. Thus, as Poirot gets ready to wrap his affairs at the Palazzo Lacrime dei Giovani, he waves off Olga, Leopold, the Holland siblings, and Harry as they ride off in a boat along the waterways of Venice. Thus, the bird, who had been kept locked up in an oppressive home for days on end, finally got to move away with new owners to hopefully a brighter place.
Read More: Were the Ghosts Real in A Haunting in Venice, Explained
